I was out in the garage and was playing with some of my old parts and I decided to reconstruct the AIR system found on our cars. This is off a 1990 305 TBI but I am pretty sure that it is the same for TPI cars as well. I should have a few btter pics later on because this camera I have is pure garbage.

 

Here is another view with the same labeling.

 

I figured these pics would help people with the distinction between their EGR, AC and AIR stuff.

 

What is the purpose of the "Diverter Valve"??? I have been reading about if it(A.I.R.) is nessesary to have to pass emissions. I know it is needed to pass visual( i dont have a visual) but is it needed for the siffer??????

btw..thanks for the pics (i know its gonna help me sometime)

 

if im wrong, someone please correct me:


the orignal factory cats needed O2 to work properly.... the problem is, all the O2 is used if the motor is running properly. so they solved this issue by pumping air directly into the cat.

when the computer decides the cat needs air, it uses the diverter valve to divert the air into the cat.


i think thats right...

 

Yea it is along those lines for the most part. It also helps combust any remaining fuel that gets into the cat on startup when the car runs a bit rich. You do not need AIR to pass the sniffer but you do for visual.

 

In 2005, my state is going to OBD2 emissions testing only, which means any car 1997 and older won't be required to have an emissions test, not even a tailpipe. If I remove the AIR stuff and leave the cat, plug the AIR tube on it, will it hurt the cat at all?? Does it need that to work properly? Just wondering.

 

The verdict is still out on that one. I have sen new cats fail with the air tube pluged. Mine is not plugeed yet but I am worried that my $$ CatCo cat will plug because I have th air tube capped off. The never gets driven so it is not like time will tell. I would just cap it but be aware of any sudden drop in performance as times goes on. You may want to replace it with a cat that does not have an AIR tube.

 

Good info. I just did this today. Took me all of 15 minutes max to get everything out. Ofcourse I only removed the air stuff, and not the manifolds and stuff like you. I've read before where a lot of people have problems with this, but this was honestly one of the easiest mods I have done to my car. I didn't even have problems with the torx bits. I even used the stock belt because I have the smog delete pulley and everything looks factory.

 

See isn't it so easy? A lot of people get scared because they get the AC and EGR confuesed with the AIR. When I took these pics I just peiced the stuff together and it took like 5 minutes. There were only clamps that held everything together. It really just comes right out without much struggle.

 

nice job man, well worth the extra space and i still pass emissions fine.

 

Here is a front view of the smog pmup with the pulley removed. You can see the two bolt holes where it attaches to the accessory bracket.

 

Here is a rear view of the smog pump where the main connection is.

 

I want to know power gains by removing the a.i.r. pump and cat. Baisicly all the smog stuff. There is no smog tests where I live.

 

Gains? .0021 RWHP. Seriously, nothing worth mentioning or hacking up a car for, let alone smell!

 

People remove it when they go with non AIR headers. I still run a cat but I do not have AIR. It strips your car of a few pounds and makes things look nicer. However, if you remove the AIR system but leave the pump on it will sieze up and cause parasitic power losses.

 

At this point in the game I want it to look clean and run a little easier. I'm not lookin to gain alot of HP from this mod I was just curious. When I stand and look at it I can visualize the bay without it and I think it would improve the amount of working area.

 

Where could a guy find that delete pulley, eh

 

gmpartsdirect.com I can't remember the part # right now, but do a search for smog pump delete pulley. I wanna say it's 10186167, but it's been a while now.

 

Just so im sure on this. Are you guy's sayin it will do no damage or hurt performance if I remove the smog pump, diverter valve, then plug the converter connection? I would love to create a bit of space under the hood of my GTA.

 

You won't hurt performance and if any you will gain a pony or two. The thing is with your cat. Cats with air tubes need the air to function properly. If not they will clog because of incompleted combustion. You may want to upgrade to a high flow cat with no air tube.

 

thanks for the info .. prob a good idea to just wait untill i replace the stock exhaust and take the pump off then.

 

Yup. I left my smog stuff alone unitl I could do it right with my head install. It is not worth it otherwise.

 

I've had my pump disconnected for years. I'm still running the pump, but it just blows air out the bottom of the car. It hasn't caused any problems so far.

 

You are lucky but keep an eye on it. Both my and my buddies AIR pumps started to go south after leaving them on for about a year. You will hear some crazy sounds when it starts to go.

 

I may look for that pulley, since my engine is out right now anyhow.

 

you dont even need the pulley, just read this.... https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/t...rpentine.shtml

 

right, you don't "need" the pulley, but IMO you would be better off with it. You can reuse the stock belt and it looks much better without that gaping hole. Plus, if you have underdrive pulleys you can use the belt the manufacturer says. No searching for odd sizes and all that stuff.

 

That car didn't have power steering. Mine does. That doesn't really help.

 

You can still route the belt the right way if you have power steering. Look at the other pic in that tech article. One has PS and the other does not.

 

remember the only time you air pump acually puts air to the exhast is in open loop so for most of us it would only be working for maybe 2 min tops after the engine is started

 

Your air pump always pumps air as long as its spinning. The diverter valve will only direct air in the exhaust for a few minutes. Even when air is not going into your exhaust the pump is still working.

 

Is there a difference between the AIR pump and the smog pump??? or is the the same thing.

I want to get rid of all that crap, but I need to pass the sniffer.

 

It is the same thing with two different names.

 

my car has power sterring.... use the same routing but finding a belt to fit isnt easy..... can remember what pn it is but i got it written some where.. basically use the same routing but include the powerstearing in there.. everything will work fine...

i must say though... becareful if you get into this project. the torx shaped bolts on the front of the pump are the bane of my existence.. it took me 2 days to remove the pump becuz these lil bastages stripped out soo badly that i had to drill em and use extractors to get em out. my radiator had to come out and eveything.. it was a mess. although this saves some punds its kinda like 100lbs off = .1secs et and these lil pumps only weight about 2-5 lbs( idunno what the rest weighs cuz i didint have it on mah car when i bought it.

 

what do you do with the 2 connectors that connect under the cover of the diverter thing?

 

you can just cut them off

 

Ok. Thanks

 

In an attempt to not rob the cats of their air, what would happen (or would it do any good) if you used the same cats but did not plug their AIR tube?

 

You would hear a wistling sound at speeds and have an exhaust leak at idle.

 

A couple years ago I pulled all the air stuff out of my '87 TPI and have not had any adverse results -- instead, it is a pleasure to change spark plugs! However, because the car is converted from V-belt to serpentine and the air pump was left out, the longer belt bounces around too much when the AC is on. Although I've not yet had a problem with a thrown belt, I'd like to install a pully where the air pump used to be.

Please tell me more about the "smog delete pully" and where to get one. Thanks!

Follow up -- did the research and ordered one, here's the info:
---------------------------------------------------------
gmpartsdirect.com for the following parts.

AIR pump delete pulley p/n 10186167 is
listed as a "water pump pulley," cost about
$40.

Another useful item is the A/C delete
pulley, p/n 10055890.

 

If you've ever hooked up a scan tool to your ecm, the air pump switches on and off from time to time. The stock ECM is calibrated to compensate for the injected air by adding a fixed number to the current oxygen sensor reading, which may or may not cause a leaning or richening situation that goes undetected.

Also, do not gut your catalytic converter and keep your air pump intact. You will get horrid popping noises from your exhaust. Well, I don't think it's cool... some others here might though ;-)

 

That's why you disable it in the chip, along with egr, the charcoal canister, and the speed limiter.

 

thanks! very educational

 

Quick question about the smog delete pulley or as its listed at gmpartsdirect.com, the "water pump pulley"....

Does that include a bracket to mount the pulley into the two bolt holes where the smog pump was originally mounted??

 

Yes, it is somewhat similar to the ac delete pulley. If you do a search you should find exact pics.

 

I didnt finish reading, so yell at me if i ask somthing over again.

If the air tubes connecting to the cat were unplugged because of a high flow cat and no place to plug them, would that cause anything bad? Im still waiting on thoes brackets.

Thanks

 

sorry for double post, i clicked refresh at the wrong time

 

This may be a dumb question, but if you don't have a cat... you can remove all this junk with no worries right?

 

This may be a dumb question, but if you don't have a cat... you can remove all this junk with no worries right?


edit: i don't know how this happened... but it posted again.. sorry for the double.